Police test out speed enforcement SUV

By Jason Auslander | The New Mexican
Posted: 11/4/2009, 8:39 PM Mountain time

If your Maserati — or even your Subaru — does 185, you've got a new enemy on the streets of Santa Fe.

Some drivers may already have noticed the 2008 Ford Escape — painted red, white and blue and conveniently labeled "photo enforcement vehicle" — parked by the side of the road in various locations throughout town. So far, the unmanned sport-utility vehicle has been harmless to those who find the speed limit a mere suggestion. Police and the private company that owns it are still working out the kinks and sending out warnings to the lead-footed.

But come Dec. 1, the warnings become tickets, and those doing more than 11 mph over the limit might find life's not so good when an $86 comeuppance arrives in their mailbox.

"It sits out there so cops don't have to," said Santa Fe police Capt. Anthony Robbin.

In nearly two weeks of using the speed SUV, city police have issued about 1,200 warnings to drivers — including 420 in a 12-hour period on its first day stationed on southbound U.S. 84/285 coming in to the city's north side. That, according to the revenue breakdown supplied by Robbin, translates to nearly $27,000 worth of funds for the city.

The vehicle is actually owned by an Arizona company called Redflex Traffic Systems, which has signed a contract with the city to operate the speed vehicle and several red-light cameras in town. The deal requires no capital investment by the city, though it must pay Redflex a percentage of the fines it collects. In the case of the speed SUV, the city will pay the company 26 percent of the fines, Robbin said.

The red-light cameras have not yet been installed because the city has been waiting for the state to issue a permit for them, Robbin said. The city must split its cut of the revenue from both the speed SUV and the red-light cameras with the state, 50-50, he said.

The SUV is equipped with a radar unit that measures speed and a camera that takes a picture of the speeding vehicle's license plate, Robbin said. A police officer will review the violations and check a box indicating whether they are valid or not, then Redflex will send out the ticket, he said. Motorists who want to dispute the ticket can ask for a hearing with a bar-certified hearing officer the city is in the process of hiring, Robbin said.

The fine is $86 for the first violation over 11 mph, and $100 for each violation after that.

The vehicle will be parked in school zones in the morning and various other locations throughout the city after 8:30 a.m., he said. Initially, police will run the vehicle 24 hours, though it will likely stop around 7 p.m. after a period of time. The vehicle's location will be published daily in The New Mexican's police notes section, Robbin said, "so people have no excuse."

Contact Jason Auslander at 986-3076 or :jauslander@sfnewmexican.com.

WHO GETS WHAT

City police expect to actually collect about 70 percent of the fines ($86 each) generated by the speed SUV that recently went into use around town, said Capt. Anthony Robbin. Out of that amount, Redflex Traffic Systems takes 26 percent. The remainder must be split 50-50 with the state. The following is a breakdown of who gets what based on the 1,200 speed warnings issued by city police in the last 13 days:

$86 x 1,200 = $103,200

70% of $103,200 = $72,240

26% of $72,240 = $18,782 (Redflex cut)

$72,240 minus $18,782 = $53,458 (city and state cut)

50% of $53,458 = $26,729 (city's cut)